


The Last Grey Warden in Ferelden

by xxMad_Donaxx



Series: Inquisitor Anders [2]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Beta, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Both our boys are so damaged, M/M, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:42:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24232999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxMad_Donaxx/pseuds/xxMad_Donaxx
Summary: Anders tries to do too much and discovers that might not be a good idea. Instead of running himself ragged he starts to worry about the song he's hearing.
Relationships: Anders/Cullen Rutherford
Series: Inquisitor Anders [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1717843
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19





	The Last Grey Warden in Ferelden

**Author's Note:**

> All you need to know about the Legacy DLC. Anders _was not_ with the Champion and his brother in the Vimmark mountains. Varric was however. Everything that excursion revealed about Malcom Hawke put Carver in defense mode and even his other companions weren't given the whole story. So Anders has no idea that Grey Wardens become ghouls if not killed when they're thrown into the Deep Roads.

Cullen watched from the shadows of the doorway to Josephine’s office along with Mother Giselle. The discussion the Herald was having with First Enchanter Vivienne was growing a little heated. Vivienne didn’t seem all that frustrated but Cullen would have been more surprised if she had. He knew Anders could test the patience of the most saintly and even tempered Mothers however and figured Vivienne was just well practiced at hiding most of her irritation.

The First Enchanter was one of two people the Herald had come back from Val Royeaux with. He didn’t exactly like Sera but she was at least tolerable. Vivienne rubbed him the wrong way and he couldn’t quite figure out why. She was alpha but he was certain that had nothing to do with his dislike. Nor was the fact she was a mage. Both groups had ultimately betrayed him and he liked to hope he was capable of being sensible with both.

Vivienne crossed her arms under her bosom before Anders huffed and turned on his heel. Cullen watched him stalk past muttering about prickly elves being more reasonable before the door to the war room slammed behind him. The others were now officially waiting on him to arrive to begin the meeting. Instead of turning and entering Cullen stepped out of the shadows and met Vivienne’s eye. Neither of them said a word and he didn’t turn until one of her eyebrows climbed halfway up her forehead. Mother Giselle was watching him and he gave her a small bow before easing into the war room.

Anders was pacing the length of the table, still muttering. Cullen was struck immediately by Josephine’s scent. It was much stronger than it had been a couple of hours ago and he knew she’d be locked inside her room very soon. He schooled his expression and managed not to shudder. Rather than standing next to the omega like he normally did Cullen stopped at the end of the table next to Cassandra.

The Herald stopped his pacing and muttering near him and he couldn’t stop the slight lean and the deep inhale to catch his scent. This close his odd smell drowned the omega scent he could barely stand. The scowl on Anders’ face turned to a frown. Cullen kept his face devoid of emotions, aside from the slight blush spreading across his cheeks, and studied the map. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Herald look across the table at Josephine and back before he spoke.

“The omega tent needs to be moved inside Haven’s walls,” Anders said firmly.

“Herald,” Cassandra began. 

“Don’t give me excuses or bullshit reasons,” he interrupted angrily. “It should never have been left there. They’re vulnerable in heat and you’ve left them somewhere they don’t even have a door to lock. Make sure its somewhere the prevailing winds here will blow the scent out of Haven. There’s no sense torturing our alphas either.”

“I’ll see it done Herald,” Cullen said into the silence.

Curiosity at why this had to be done now rather than when it had been mentioned before Anders had gone to Val Royeaux was quickly lost in frustration. While Josephine had pointed out they didn’t have enough influence to approach either faction Anders refusal to even consider the Templars wasn’t surprising at all but it was extremely infuriating. After deciding to continue building influence before revisiting the issue he followed Anders out of the Chantry. He was stopped by a young man loitering at the entrance and Cullen stopped a little ways away to listen. Anders mood turned gleeful as soon as the young man turned away.

“Going to the Storm Coast!” Anders exclaimed to him as he rushed away. “Tell the others!”

Cullen watched for a minute and turned back to the Chantry, his thoughts already on the omega tent and how he would fit it inside the walls.

*

The Iron Bull was someone Anders might get along with despite his obvious nervousness about mages. Considering how Qunari treated mages he was a little shocked at how tolerant the Bull actually was. At least he was willing to work with Anders without much fuss unlike the two he’d picked up on the way to Orlais. Vivienne was simply infuriating and Sera seemed afraid he was going to explode somehow and destroy half of Haven before he managed to close the Breach.

Sadly the rumors of Grey Wardens on the Coast proved slightly inaccurate. They had been there but were no longer occupying the camps they’d found. Anders had no idea where they might be and had found no clues in the abandoned camps. It was disheartening but hopefully he didn’t show how important it was to him to find some Grey Wardens. For some reason Cassandra and Leliana had chosen to keep his identity somewhat of a secret. They hadn’t let it slip to anyone he was a Grey Warden. He hadn’t figured out why exactly but it really hadn’t been a high priority to ask why.

After he’d gotten back from that task he’d gone right back out to the Hinterlands. A disturbing conversation with the Inquisition’s spy had him seeking out what might be the only Grey Warden left in Ferelden and Orlais aside from himself. Unfortunately Blackwall was not what he claimed to be. Since they’d kept him a secret Anders decided not to call him out on his lie. Teaching those men a little self-defense and giving them a little confidence wasn’t a bad thing. He also agreed that no representation in the Inquisition was almost as bad as people thinking they’d had a hand in the explosion.

Two trips into the Ferelden wilderness in such quick succession had worn him in a way he hadn’t expected however. Idleness hadn’t suited him after Justice and the spirit seemed to give him the stamina to last for a long time without rest. Lately he found the stamina absent and had found himself on the receiving end of quite a few concerned looks and a couple of stern ones. In an effort to rest but not bored out of his mind Anders took frequent walks around Haven. That’s how he found himself just outside the walls, watching Blackwall.

He couldn’t fathom why someone would want to impersonate a Grey Warden. If people knew what it took to become a Warden there would be far less people willing to sign up. His own joining hadn’t been much of a choice, death by tranquility or possible death by darkspawn. Until the moment he drank that awful concoction he hadn’t known he could die just trying to become a Warden. If the people who were forcibly conscripted knew they’d eventually be listening to the song of the old gods he thought they might just take more drastic action to avoid becoming a Warden. Sometimes he found himself tapping a finger to it. At the moment he found himself rubbing his temples as he watched Blackwall with one of the horses and worrying that he seemed to be the only Grey Warden in southern Thedas.

“Are you all right?”

Anders whipped around and found Cullen backing up a step, one hand halfway to his sword. He closed a fist around the fire in his palm. “I’m sorry,” Anders said holding his hands out. “I’m… extremely jumpy. I didn’t hear you.”

“I’ll be sure to make more noise in the future,” Cullen replied cautiously. “Are you all right?”

“Fine. Just… a bit of a headache.” He noted that Cullen hadn’t scented him but he could have done that while Anders wasn’t paying attention.

Cullen frowned as he clasped his hands behind his back and moved up next to him. “You shouldn’t push yourself so. There’s much to be done but you shouldn’t try doing it all at once.”

“So I’ve discovered,” Anders sighed. That brought up his other major worry, that Justice was somehow gone.

“Which one of them has you concerned?” Cullen asked after a few moments.

“Blackwall. I’m not really concerned about him. It’s more that he seems to be the only Grey Warden in all of Ferelden and Orlais.” Cullen glanced at him and it was easy to read the ‘aside from you’ in that quick look.

“They can’t all have disappeared. What about the Hero? Do you know where she is?”

“I don’t. Leliana might. We… fell out of touch after I went to Kirkwall.”

There was a bit of curiosity in Cullen’s gaze now but the subject of Kirkwall seemed to be taboo. Even Varric was a little tight lipped about it. Of the multitudes of rumors about the Champion few were anywhere near the truth. The Inquisition’s esteemed Commander knew most of the truly important things that had gone on, Meredith’s tenuous hold on sanity, the idol and the abuse of nearly all the Gallows mages. It was what Cullen didn’t know that had him glaring at the broad soldier at a deep inhale barely heard over the bustle in the area.

“Why do you keep doing that?” Anders muttered through clenched teeth.

Cullen’s cheeks gained a bit of color but he remained at ease, hands clasped behind his back. “You have… the most unique scent I’ve ever encountered. Why does it bother you to be scented? Most alphas aren’t aware they do it.”

“Why does the smell of omegas in heat send you running to the Chantry?” Anders countered with an arched eyebrow.

“Because I was tormented with her scent in the Tower during the blight,” Cullen said quietly. “Days or months… the constant exposure… it was maddening.”

Anders had a strong suspicion he knew who “she” was. Neria Surana, the Hero of Ferelden, had a major crush on Cullen as a young apprentice in the Tower. Her love life had moved on by the time she pulled the Tower out of its mess. Cullen’s dislike of omega scents now made perfect sense. He nodded and focused on Blackwall to avoid Cullen’s gaze.

“Alphas and omegas have been using me for a surrogate pretty much since we figured out what you could do with a hard dick. Yes I invited them to. No I don’t regret helping any of them. But I’m tired of… being used for a rubbing post. Or a more pleasant smell. You can’t know what it’s like to have someone’s nose buried in your neck and know they don’t really want you.”

“I apologize,” Cullen said softly after a moment. “I will do my best to refrain from scenting you.”

“Thank you. I think I’ll go take a nap. Commander.”

“Herald.”

As he walked back through the gates of Haven Anders couldn’t resist a look back over his shoulder. Cullen watched him a moment longer then turned to his men. He touched the shoulder of one at a training dummy and leaned close to his ear. The young man nodded and hurried for the gate Anders was loitering in. The Commander didn’t look back and Anders began moving again in search of his bed, his thoughts returning to many missing Grey Wardens.

*

After sending the young man to the omega tent he spent a few minutes staring at Blackwall. Cullen turned back towards the gate. He suspected there was something else bothering Anders besides the number of Grey Wardens in southern Thedas. Just what that may be he had no clues what so ever. The slightly selfish troublemaker Anders had been in the tower didn’t give Cullen any indications but perhaps the Darktown Healer could.

There had been so many rumors surrounding the mage in Darktown. Cullen hadn’t known exactly who it was until the debacle with the Qunari. The Champion protected him afterward but that didn’t stop the rumors. It was said that Anders was possessed and while one of the more outlandish rumors, it wasn’t ever proven false. Anders hadn’t seemed unhinged but his temper had been quite volatile. His mood seemed much more stable now than it had been in Kirkwall but again, it couldn’t be proven that he wasn’t possessed.

Of course with the mark on his hand Anders was relatively safe from Templar recourse here in the Inquisition. That knowledge eased something in his chest that Cullen wasn’t about to examine. It was worrisome however that he seemed to be plagued with headaches recently. This wasn’t the first time he’d seem the Herald pushing or rubbing his temples, running his fingers through his hair and yanking on it when not tied in a tail. He resolved to watch Anders a little closer, maybe interrupt conversations with First Enchanter Vivienne before they were semi shouting matches.

Cullen turned back to his recruits for a moment before turning to the gate. Speaking with Leliana and Josephine couldn’t hurt. He found the Inquisition spy first and found out quickly that she’d noted much the same things he had. Josephine took a little longer to track down but she too had seen the strange ticks Anders had acquired. Cullen searched for Varric next, the dwarf having spent nearly a decade in the mage’s company previous to both of them being pulled into the Inquisition. 

Varric had noticed the ticks as well and he said they were all completely new. He also expressed concern for his friend which only firmed Cullen’s resolve to figure out exactly what Anders was hiding. To that end he went to the house that had been set aside for the Herald of Andraste and knocked on the door. After the second knock the door was opened by a yawning Anders. One eyebrow rose in question before he was ushered in with a shrug as Anders stepped back into the room.

“I apologize for interrupting your nap,” Cullen said as he followed the Herald to the bedroom.

Anders flopped onto the bed and gestured at a chair before yawning the word, “But?”

“I don’t think you were very truthful before,” he said cautiously. “There is something wrong.”

“Yes,” Anders sighed after a brief but intense look. “How much do you know about Grey Wardens Commander?”

“Not a lot.”

“What I’m about to say doesn’t leave this room.”

Cullen nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“We’re not completely immune to the taint. Our lifespans are greatly reduced. Shortly after I closed the big rift at the Temple I began hearing… whispers. Before you panic it’s not demons. It’s supposedly one of the old gods, calling the darkspawn to free it. It’s hauntingly beautiful and completely horrifying. I don’t know how much time I have left and I’ve been trying to find someone more knowledgeable about such things. But I’m the only Grey Warden in Ferelden.”

He thought back to Blackwall and frowned. “What can I do?”

“Make me stop.” Anders leaned back against the headboard and snorted. “In Kirkwall it wasn’t unusual for me to be fine with around four hours of sleep, the rest spent running around with Carver or healing the multitudes the Chantry didn’t care about.” He rubbed his temples and frowned. “I can hear my time running out and I have to seal the breach before it does.”

“You have no idea how much time you have,” Cullen said sternly. “Your dedication is admirable but you can’t let it be the death of you.”

“The song…”

“Is not something you can control,” he interrupted firmly. “Learn not to listen to it.”

“Do you…,” Anders began. He shook his head and moved to sit at the edge of the bed. “I’ll do my best Commander. Just… maybe keep an eye on me. When we hear our Calling we’re sent into the Deep Roads so I don’t know what will happen.”

“I will Herald,” Cullen said softly.

That Anders, a circle mage that escaped seven times and had professed his dislike of Templars too many times to count, would ask to be watched by him, a former Templar, said much about just how worried he was about it. They left the house together but Anders went in search of food. Cullen set off to find Varric again. The dwarf had been with Anders on all of his excursions and he doubted the Herald would change this pattern. The trick would be telling him just enough to satisfy his curiosity without breaking his word of silence. Hopefully being a close friend of Anders would make the task easier.

The dwarf was at the same fire he’d found him at before. Cullen stopped next to it and glanced at Varric before staring into the crackling flames.

“Find him?” Varric asked cheerfully.

“I did,” Cullen replied. “He is… very concerned about something. But…”

“You can’t tell me what.” Varric nodded then sighed. “What can I do?”

“He asked me to watch him. I can’t be with him all the time and he enjoys your company more than most.”

There was a shrewd look Cullen had no idea how to interpret but the dwarf nodded as his gaze turned back to the fire as well. “What am I looking for?”

“Even he doesn’t know. Thank you Varric.”

“No problem Curly.”

Cullen headed back to the gates, his mind a whirl with thoughts of Grey Wardens, Anders and why he didn’t seem to count Blackwall among their number.


End file.
